Two more persons belonging to the dreaded D-Company were picked up in Mangalore.

Detained for questioning, Ismail Kaup and Athik, the police say, were closely associated with Rashid Malabari.

The names of Ismail, a resident of Kaup and Athik who hails from Kasargod cropped up during the questioning of Malabari who came into India to undertake the assassination of Varun Gandhi [Images] and Pramod Muthalik [Images].

Sources told rediff.com the two were in charge of the logistics for the D-Company.

During the interrogation of Malabari, it was revealed that both Athik and Ismail were local residents and they were providing logistic support to the D-Company.

The role assigned to Malabari was also to create a safe channel for the D Gang in Mangalore. He was told by his bosses to set up strong bases in the Mangalore belt. Through Mangalore, the D Gang wanted to supply both arms and ammunition and also fund hawala transactions.

Besides, they wanted to create a southern corridor starting at Mangalore which would then eventually spread to Bengaluru [Images], Chennai and Kerala [Images].

Intelligence Bureau officials say the modus operandi could have spilt into something larger. The D-Company and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] have been working in close circles since some time and there were plans afloat to create a souther corridor. The LeT was planning on using the route utilized by Dawood to carry out terror operations.